1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to boat mooring apparatus, and more specifically to apparatus to allow for ease of travel up and down dock piling posts to which a vessel may be tied or moored in such a fashion that it is free to move vertically with changes in tide.
2. Discussion of the Prior Art
As described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,480,576 to Mills, in areas having significant tide differences, a problem arises in mooring a boat to a dock or a pier in that it is necessary to leave the lines sufficiently slack to permit rise and fall of the boat with the tide and yet have the line tight enough to anchor the boat sufficiently to prevent damage from beating against the dock resulting in possible damage to the craft and the dock. In accordance with the teachings of the Mills patent, the boat mooring system comprises a pair of spaced apart support braces which are fixedly secured to a dock. Attached to the braces and projecting vertically downward into the water for a predetermined distance are cylindrical posts. Cooperating with each of the spaced-apart vertical posts is a carriage arrangement comprising a generally U-shaped bracket or collar having roller members extending across the open end of the U and arranged to ride up and down the outer surfaces of the cylindrical posts. Mooring lines are used to couple the boat to the movable carriage members. The mooring system requires a permanent arrangement on the dock or pier and the U shaped member is a part of the permanent system.
Another boat mooring system is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. Re. 27,050 to Jorgenson which provides a mooring harness or cable and cleat which permits rapid manual encirclement of the cable around one of his mooring members and the engagement of the cable latch with the cleat member by a sequence of movements. Jorgenson also shows a portion of the bight of the cable on which he disposes beads to reduce cable wear as the cable rises and falls while in contact with a mooring member. Each of the prior art patents are limited to the specially designed vertical posts and the mooring harnesses which are located at set distances for a single boat length. Neither of the prior art systems are adaptable to the many different mooring conditions found at the many different marinas which cruising boaters encounter during extended trips. Furthermore, the complex, downwardly extending posts, are cumbersome and expensive to fabricate. In addition, the posts become encrusted by marine life which interferes with the ability of the float to move up and down.